The Hope
by Redhood79
Summary: The year is 2087 and the last slayer has been killed, an evil spell has been cast to prevent the calling of another. In a desprit situation the Watcher’s Council must raise a famous slayer from the dead to save humanity.
1. Default Chapter

Title: The Hope

Rating: R 

Summary: The year is 2087 and the last slayer has been killed, an evil spell has been cast to prevent the calling of another. In a dispirit situation the Watcher's Council and a Wicca coven embark on a mission to raise a famous slayer from the dead.

Disclaimer: I don't own any BtVS character's, Joss and ME do. I don't own the Watcher's council either. I do however own Rosaline, Arden, the Delilac coven, and all the others I made up. I imagine Rosaline being a Kate Beckinsale clone, and Arden being, well Arden.

* * *

2087 An Abandoned house in London 

A young girl dressed in black jeans and a black tee-shirt is fighting a band of demons and vampires with a sword. She had short light blue hair and dark blue eyes. She decapitates a hairy green demon; a vampire grabs her from behind and bites into the back of her neck. She brings her leg up connecting with the vampire knocking him on his ass. "That the best you got?" she says in a distinct accent, New Zealand being her origin. 

She cuts his head off. Turning back to the others she draws a gun. "How 'bout we thin the herd a little?" 

She presses a button on the gun and cocks it, then pulls the trigger. Twelve rounds go off, hitting all the demons in the head. She smiles and places the gun back in its holster at her side. Four of the fallen bodies move. 

"Bullets don't kill vampires," one said getting up.

"I know that, but they hurt like hell don't they?" the girl says holding up her sword. The fight was over quickly, the four vampires dust.

"All in a nights work," the girl said, wiping her sword clean and putting in into its scabbard on her back. She turned to the sound of clapping.

"Very good, Mag," a male voice said, coming out from the shadows. The Slayer known as Magnolia Paul froze seeing the boys face. He was only a few inches taller than her, she was 5'6. He had dark brown hair, which he usually had slicked back, and black, black eyes. He only looked about 20, but Magnolia knew better. Wisdom of ages were hidden behind those eyes.

"Gallan…." she whispered. Her dark blue eyes started to fill with tears. She checked herself, she couldn't cry, couldn't run to him. She knew now what she truly was. Not just a demon, if he were only that it would be alright. No, he was a monster. 

"Magnolia." 

He made a mock bow towards her, then quickly lifted his eyes toward the rafters. Magnolia turned to where he was looking, but too late. She heard the shriek and the sound of wings.

* * *

"It doesn't matter, Arden! Find Magnolia, if you get her it won't matter if we can find them and stop the ritual," Rosaline Delilac said into the picture phone. 

"It bloody well does matter! Even if I find her before she's killed, if they finish the spell she'll still be the last slayer! Even if she dies of old age!" the young Watcher, known as Arden Davis, screamed. 

"No need to yell!" Rosaline replied. 

"Sorry, luv," the Englishman apologized.

"And that's not true. The spell needs to be cast right when the last slayer dies for it to work. Why do you think that little shit Gallan bond his essence to her. All Marane demons feel when another one is in pain or dies. When Mag dies they'll know. How could you loose her anyway? She's your charge!"

The young man glared at her with his hazel eyes. "She's 16 years old! You ever try to find one of those when they don't want to be found? What am I suppose to do? Put a tracking device on her?"

"It would help…."

"Rosaline," her sister Jessica came into the room. "We found them. Are you coming?" 

Rosaline nodded. "In a min, Jessie," she turned back to the phone. "We found their location, Arden."

A look of relief washed over the man's face. "Thank God. Should I meet you ther' than?" Rosaline shook her head. 

"No, we may not be able to stop them. Find Magnolia, and quickly," she told him. 

"Easy for you to say. She could be anywhere. She didn't even tell me where she was patrolling tonight, I guess I could go to the Spiral and ask around."

"If you need help you could always ask Will."

"No fuckin' way!" the man shot back. "Fine….I have to go. Happy huntin'," she said before hanging up. Arden's image turned to black.

 Rosaline sighed. She thought Arden would get over his dislike for Will, after all the help he had been to the council and the Slayer over the last several years. True, Will was a little unhinged. But if the stories were true, he had been a lot crazier before he joined forces with the council. It would really help to have him join in the hunt. The situation was desperate. It was Will in fact who had brought the whole ritual and plan of the Marane's to the Council's attention. 

Over two years ago all the Slayers in training had began to be killed off, one by one. All measures had been taken to secure their safety but somehow the last few had been killed, all except Magnolia. No one knew she even existed until Will told them. She never asked how Will knew these things, he just did. The council sent Arden to New Zealand in secret, deciding to keep Magnolia well hidden in her hometown, some of the members of the council didn't even know about her because of the leak. Someone inside was obviously a betrayer. Finally the Slayer before Mag, Sabine, was killed, falling through the roof during a struggle with a vampire, falling onto a piece of broken glass. Magnolia was then brought to London. Rosaline had only met the girl a handful of times, but she could tell from those few meetings, and a glimpse at the girl's aura, that Magnolia was strong in spirit and physicality for the job of the Chosen one. 

But now all the work Arden's people had done, all the training, all Mag's spirit could be lost in a matter of minutes. Rosaline couldn't let this happen. They had to find Magnolia and stop the Maran's ritual before all was lost. Before the world was plunged into darkness, without hope of any light every again.

* * *

The creature know as the Yurka swooped down from the rafters at Magnolia. The Yurka was an ancient being, almost driven to extinction. They were like giant purple bats, but with green eyes and wide, round mouths. Their screams put fear into the heart of even the most brave. 

Magnolia had no time to draw her sword or even her gun. The Yurka attacked, latching onto her shoulders and beating its sharp tipped wings at her, cutting her neck and face. It lifted her up high into the air before letting her crash to the hard stone floor. Magnolia reflexes kicked into high gear. She drew her gun and raised it at the Yurka, only to have the beast grab her hand with its talons, breaking the metal weapon and Magnolia's hand in the process. She screamed out in pain. The Yurka did likewise. 

Gallan had drawn Magnolia's sword from her scabbard and drove it into the Yurka's back. The creature let go of Magnolia's hand, which was broken and bleeding a great deal, as was her nose, from when she had hit the floor. In one fail swoop Gallan cut off the Yurka's head. The body fell to the ground. 

Magnolia rose, despite the pain. Slayer's always healed quickly. Before she could ask why her former lover had helped her when he had set this trap, Gallan raised the sword again. He made a swift, shallow cut across her mid section. She gasped in pain. Before she could counter attack he drop kicked her to the ground and drove the sword deep into her left leg. She screamed again, a scream of utter pain and betrayal, of loss and of fear. The blood poured profusely from her wounds. She didn't want to die! Not just because of the mission, like Arden had told her. His words came ringing back to her, _"The Slayer is the cause. She will die fighting evil and protecting others. Her life is the cause, the kill. She has nothing else. But you…..You Magnolia, are special. You are the last. You cannot die yet. You must live to fight. You cannot become reckless, or daring, you can not sacrifice yourself. Not until we find another."  She didn't care that she was the last, that if she died there would be no one after her dedicated to the cause. She didn't care that the council would have to battle the forces of darkness on its own. She didn't want to die because she didn't know what came after. She didn't want to die this way, at her love's hand. She couldn't think, the blood loss was too great. She was woozy._

Gallan held her close to his chest. "Shhhhhh…..shhhhh….It's okay," he pulled her face away and looked into her eyes, "It will all be over soon."

* * *

 A great fire was burning in the middle of the hall. Twelve Marane demons in blood red robes stood around it. Each one held a bowl with the ingredients for the spell. One by one they each dropped the ingredients into the fire. The flame roared and changed to a dark purple. One of the demons pulled down the hood of their robe to reveal a middle aged red haired woman. She looked human except for her eyes. They were completely black. She looked into the flames. A shiver went through her, as it did to the other eleven Maranes. _Soon, she thought, __Soon.  She spread her hands outward towards the flame and spoke the incantation._

_"Unla-ta Yur Sabak_

_Gila mesha tabola_

_Helve ghjar cvar poe_

_Kela ma fortute!!"_

"Here me old ones

Bind her power 

Take our son as sacrifice

Let the last die!!!"

The flames roared up again and went black. "We only have to wait a little bit longer to complete the final part," the woman said. The others nodded. Gallan and the girl were fading fast now. Suddenly there was a sound at the end of the hallway. Wood splintering, flashes of light.

"Witches," one of the demons snarled. "Quickly! Get rid of them," the woman barked the order.

The Delilac coven had already taken out the four Marane guards at the front. Their bodies were threaded to the wall with vines that had grown through the cracks in the wall. More of the demons came out from the great hall and from upstairs. One jumped down from the second story to land right in front of Rosaline, with a rapier pointed at her throat. Rosaline flicked her fingers at her side and the demon went flying across the room. 

Rosaline made it into the hall. A great black fire was blazing.

"They only have one more step before the spell is sealed!!" Rosaline screamed to her sister Jessica, who had made two more demons disappear in puffs of smoke. "We must stop them," Ingrid, one of the older witches told her. She nodded. They didn't know what the final step was, but they knew they had to stop it.

* * *

"You ….bastard," Magnolia choked out. She was feeling really horrible now. Gallan didn't look to good either. He was so pale. 

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm……dying…..you…asshole…"

"So am I, Mags. Can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my last few moments with."

"Liar….." she rasped. "You…..did…..all…this…for…your…precious…cause."

"You know I could let you die on the cold stone floor," he said cracking a smile. "I can't believe you'd say that."

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, with little success. She was too weak. "It's…true. You're …such a bastard!! You ….never …loved …me. You….just…wanted …to kill…me." It was getting harder to breath. "You…..helped….kill….all…the…others. Admit it." She went into a small coughing fit, blood formed at the corners of her mouth. 

"I …..Admit it," Gallan said. His breathing was coming slower now too. Soon. "I was ….intrigued with you. I asked to be the one to get you."

"Your…..mother….told you too," she spat. "Your favorite!"

Each Marane demon had at least two wives; the wives usually had more husbands, usually three or more. They had numerous children which they all raised together. An immediate family usually consisted of thirty family members or more. 

"I ….hate her….now," he confessed.

"I'm glad. Hate ….is all…we …are…left…with," Magnolia said quite seriously. She was not crying now. Her leg was completely numb and she had a searing pain in her chest. 

"No," Gallan shook his head. "_Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O, no! it is an ever fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken…Shakespeare."_

"I know who it is!" She went into another small coughing fit. "You….always…thought…I ….was…some country….bumpkin."

"No….No Mags…." He held her close to him. "I never thought that," he felt a slight choking in his throat. He could feel the blood coming up. He went into a coughing spasm. The blood dribbled down his chin. 

"I always thought you….different. So….full…of life. Of fire…..not caring…what others thought of you. You…were….wild and impatient at times…."

"And that was my downfall…." She took a breath, " I should have listened to Arden! …or the other council members…..I hate you!! I hate you!!! You—" she began to beat her fists against his chest and shoulders, tried to pull away. He pinned her arms behind her, holding her with one arm. He held her face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"And I love you….I love you, Magnolia." 

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was about to say something….but her eyes fell back into her head.

* * *

The conditions in the great hall had gotten worse. There were demons and witches everywhere. Rosaline had a small cut on her forehead courtesy of one of the Marane demons. Some of the witches were trying to destroy the rest of the ingredients on the table, but each one was met with death at the end of a sword. 

The red headed woman held a jar in her grasp. She had magic of her own and was keeping the others at bay. The flame was turning darker and darker. It was nearly there!!

* * *

"Let  her go!"

Gallan turned his head to see Magnolia's Watcher, Arden Davis. He was holding a gun levied at Gallan's head. "She's not dead yet. Only unconscious."

"Why aren't you? Isn't that how the whole essence bonding thing works?" Arden said, moving slowly forward, not lowering the gun.

"It's taking all my power to stay awake. You can put the gun away."

Arden just walked closer to him. He was only a few feet away and had a perfect shot of his head. "Give her to me," he said.

"No," Gallan replied. Arden cocked the gun. "Give her to me."

"What are you going to do? That'll kill her too, or had you forgotten?"

Idiotically enough Arden had forgotten. "I can shoot you in the arm."

"Think that would help her any?"

Arden lowered the gun. He was stuck. He didn't have much time. Magnolia looked dead already, except he could see her shallow breathing. 

"When….I….die……don't let…..my…people have me," Gallan whispered. The room was spinning and fading around him.

"Your people will be done after tonight."

Gallan let out a little laugh. "Like….I …was…saying. Don't let them have my body. Bury….me…by…Magnolia. Put on….my….headstone….' Gallan….A demon who loved the slayer Magnolia with all his being'." 

Arden shook his head. "You expect me to believe you really still love her?" he snarled.

"I expect you to know what love is really like. How cruel it is." 

With that Gallan fell over on top of Magnolia and stopped breathing.

* * *

Now! The flames turn an eerie smokey gray. Jessica saw this. The red haired woman  unfastens the lid of the jar. "No!" Rosaline's sister launches herself at the woman. It is too late. A swift mist leaps into the flames, which roar and turn a bright orange. The flames become a beam of light and shoot through the roof. Everyone stops fighting to watch. _No, no, Rosaline's head screams. The beam fades and returns to a normal fire. _

"It is done!" the woman screams. Jessica draws a dagger, ready to stab the woman. The red head turns and claws the air. Scrapes appear across Jessica's eyes and face. She screams in pain. The woman take the dagger and slits Jessica's throat.

"No!!!" Rosaline screams. "No!!!" The fire roars engulfing several demons and witches. The roof catches fire. 

Rosaline uses her magic and anger to hit the red haired woman into the fire. She is oblivious to her coven sisters that are in pain. She kneels to her sister's body and picks it up, cradling her in her arms. Jessica Delilac is dead.

* * *

Arden threw Gallan off Magnolia. "Come on Mag, don't do this. Don't die on me!!" But there is no pulse. "Oh God…." His eyes fill up with tears. "Maggi!! Magnolia!" He embraces his charge, crying into her hair.

* * *

In a dark room in London

Will, William, know for ages as Spike, and ages before that as William-the-Bloody, sat, crouched in the corner of his room. The voices had gotten easier to handle over the last 85 years. But now…now….

"Stop it!" he slapped his head. They were acting up more.

_You let her down, you didn't save her, one said. __You didn't even try, said another._

 _It's because she's not her! they screamed together. __Your **precious one! She's dead so no one else deserves help, hmmm? they said, making him feel guilty.**_

"I know! I know!! I didn't help! I didn't try…she's just a baby…a baby. I left her. But they didn't ask me for help!" he yelled out to the room.

_You don't need to be asked to help, one said, __you always helped** her, even when she didn't want it!**_

"Stop it! Stop talking! It's not my fault! It's not my bloody fault!!"

_No, a new voice said, kinder than the others, __It is not your fault. You could not have stopped it. But the slayer  is not the only one who needed you. There are others. They need you now. _

"Yes," Spike nodded. "Yes, they will need me." He stood up and grabbed his leather duster off the chair. He could not bear to part with it even after all this time. He was about to head out the door when he stopped. A framed picture was sitting on the dresser. There were three people in it. A short blond with hazel eyes, with a briallant smile on her face. A red head with green eyes. Her nose was wrinkled up as she smiled at the camera. The third person was younger. She resembled the blond in a way. She had long brown hair and though she was younger she was taller than the other two. Her smile was small, she had her head tilted towards the blond. He stopped and stroked the blond in the picture. They did need his help.

Part 2 coming soon

*** Please review! No flames please!


	2. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the original BtVS characters. Joss Whedon and ME do, lucky bastards. I do own Rosaline, Arden, and all the other people I make up. 

A/N: Yes I posted this under PG-13 but later it may get into the R rating, because of violence and language. Also Buffy is not the only person who will be coming back. At least two others from the past will be coming too.

Thank you all for the reviews!!! *sniff* You like me! You really like me! ….Well my story anyway….

* * *

It was three days later. They were all attending Magnolia's and Gallan's funeral. Jessica had been buried the day before, out in the country near the old Delilac Manor. 

Rosaline stood in a coma like state, dressed all in black. She wasn't listening to the priest's words. William was standing next to her, even though it was 11 o'clock in the afternoon. The sky was thick with black clouds, which blocked out the sun. It had been raining for three days straight. Rosaline knew it would not stop. Hers and the other witch's pain were to great. She had cried so hard, for so long. Now it seemed that she was always crying. Not big, hot tears, not screaming. The tears just seemed to spill from her eyes without stopping. The priest finished the service and the coffins were lowered into the ground. 

The people began to break up. Rosaline fell back against William. "You okay, luv?" he asked. She nodded. She felt sick, like she could throw up. She had thrown up last night, and the day before that. It was probably just the grief.  

She saw Arden standing a little ways away. She patted Will on the arm, not having to use words to tell him what she was doing. He nodded and took out a cigarette and lit it.

He looked up at her as she approached. Neither of them knew what to say. He spoke first. "I….Proctor called a meeting. Important you know."

Simon Proctor was the new head of the council.

She nodded. "Council things. Think I'll just….mediate…"

She had caused the entire building the ritual took place in to catch fire. Several people had not been able to get out in time; witches and demons. Witches usually do not use magic to harm others unless necessary. In the old days, when one was grieving or in emotional pain they were sent away for a time to be alone. Rosaline held her stomach. She felt sick again.

"Are you okay?" Arden asked. He cupped her face in his hands. She nodded. 

"I'm fine, and if I have to say I'm fine one more time somebody's head is going to explode," she gave a small smile. 

"Want me to take you home?" he smiled at her.

"No, I can hitch a ride with Will."

Arden frowned. He could see the vampire behind them, smoking a cigarette and paying his respects to the dead. He did not like William. Rosaline said it was only because he was a vampire and he didn't want to get to know him. Part of that was true. He was a vampire, and vampires were evil and could not be trusted, even if one of them had a soul. Humans had souls and they were still able to do horrible, unforgivable things.

"It's okay," she assured him. "He's a perfect gentleman. Unlike some Watcher I know who uses foul language."

"Fine, I'll talk to you later. I promise. Just don't…..invite him in or anything."

Rosaline almost laughed. For one thing William already had admittance to the coven's manor. For another Arden actually thought he could tell her what to do.

"I'll talk to _you, later," she said, bending and kissing his cheek. Arden patted her hair down and touched her face again before turning to walk to his car._

Rosaline let out a sigh. Suddenly she grabbed her throat. She _was going to be sick! She bent over and puked behind a near by headstone._

"I'm sure uh….Mr. Liam Red is going to appreciate that," came a voice behind her. Rosaline looked up at Will. "Don't get witty with me," she said, grabbing his arm to help her up.

"Sure you're okay?"

"Will everybody stop asking me that?!"

Will snatched his arm away and she lost her balance and slipped on the wet grass. 

"Now how are ya'?"

"_Shirt __irp…" she said through clenched teeth. _

"What was that?"  
  


"I said shut your bloody trap and help me up before I puke again!!"

The vampire laughed. 

"It's not funny….." tears began to well up in Rosaline's eye again. William stopped laughing.

"I'm sorry, pet. Really I am. Here," he held out his hand and helped her up. "Maybe you need a doctor?"

"I'm not seeing a shrink. You need one more than me anyway."  
  


"I meant a physician, you stupid git," the vampire started towards his car, which was handsomely paid for by the council as was hit flat. After all the help he had done for them over the last 12 years it was the least they could do. He punched the code into the key pad on the side of the door. The doors slide open. Rosaline slid slowly into the passenger seat.

"Are you going to be sick again?" he asked.

"Just shut up and drive."

* * *

Arden really didn't want to be here right now. He knew it was his duty and job as a Watcher but right now he didn't care. He has a migraine the size of Europe and had only gotten at most 6 hours of sleep in the past four days. First there had been the news of the Marane demons congregating, then Magnolia's disappearance, and finally, today, her funeral. It was just a little too much to handle. He really couldn't take this stupid meeting. It was mostly due to the fact that he felt that the others blamed him for what had happened. And why shouldn't he be blamed? He was Magnolia's watcher after all.

"We have to face facts," said Proctor. "We are without a slayer. We will be without one for a very long while. The spell the Marane demons cast was powerful. It will be hard to break, even for a powerful coven like the Delilac's."

"The demon population will begin to multiply," Janet Mitchell, an older council member, said. "We can help. Most of us are trained demon fighters—"

"And many of us will be killed," Graham Jones said. "We're not a replacement for the slayer. We're a little better informed and trained than rouge demon hunters, but right now that really means shit."

Arden smiled at his friends comment. Arden had first joined the council when he was twenty-two. Over the last six years Arden had gotten a good impression of his co-workers. Arden thought most of the council members were pompous, egotistical puffs. Graham was only a year older than him. They had both joined the council at about the same time. Graham was the only one of them Arden would really trust with his life, or anything for that matter. 

"He has a point," another woman said. "Though there are others out there who fight the demons and vampires, it doesn't mean much. The Slayer was the big one. The great warrior. A leader of a pack. If she is dead the demon population will keep growing, no matter what we do."

Arden looked at this girl. He thought her name was Zenia. She was a beginner, so to speak , having only been with the council a few months. She was from Greece and she spoke with wisdom which seemed beyond her years.

"So to speak, ladies and gentleman, we're screwed," Graham said leaning back in his chair.

* * *

Rosaline sat up in bed. She threw the covers off and tried to make it to the bathroom. Too late, she hunched over on the floor and retched. _Funny, I don't remember eating that._

She walked into the bathroom. "Light on!"

The lights came on full…stinging her eyes. 

"Down! Put them on 40."

The lights dimmed some. She looked in the mirror. Her hair was matted down and wet with sweat. She wetted a cloth and dabbed her face and neck with it.

She had been dreaming. Of someone she didn't even know. A girl…a slayer. She had been blond and strong, very strong. Not just in physical strength, because all the slayers had that. Her spirit, it was so strong, and her aura, it glowed so bright. She felt her abdomen. It felt bloated and she was sick. She sat down on the toilet and leaned back against the wall. "Just great…"

* * * 

It was four nights later, Rosaline was at Arden's flat. It was big, spacious, paid for by the council. Three rooms. Magnolia had actually lived with Arden before….before. The third room was their training room. Arden had lived in a small place before for this, paying for it with his salary, Mags had stayed at the council house, but she had hated it, she had done some damage to the weapons room, so they moved her and Arden. 

If Rosaline came over in the day or early morning, Magnolia would be sleeping or studying. Later in the day she would be training, oddly enough William would sometimes fight with her. Mags liked Will, because he was different, something the council had never told her about; that there were vampires that were good, if they had a soul. She also liked him and invited him over sometimes because she knew Arden hated him and she couldn't help but watch her mentor squirm.

"Hello, you," Arden smiled as he came in, handing his coat up. He stopped as he locked the door behind him. "I know I locked it. That's called breaking and entering you know."

"I didn't break the lock, and it doesn't count if I'm your girlfriend," she smirked.

"I guess not. Music on....." And music started to pour from the various speaker units in the flat. 

"You always did like the oldies," Rosaline said, smiling as a song by Coldplay came on.

"Don't insult my tastes, Miss Tibetan pipes and reeds," he said from the bedroom, his voice a little muffled as he was taking his shirt off to change. 

"I suppose it wouldn't help to ask how your day was…" she spoke as she moved towards the door to the bedroom. 

He pulled a night shirt over his head. "What'd you mean?" 

"I don't even know…." She sighed and moved to lie down on the bed. Arden watched her. She was so pale, lately her brown eyes always seemed to be red, and there were dark circles under them. She looked more tired then him, but he thought that couldn't be possible. 

"Have you been working hard?" he asked sitting on her side of the bed, laying his hand on her leg. "You been helpin' to try to the reversal spell?" 

"What reversal spell?!" she laughed bitterly. "They destroyed the original spell, and there is no reversal spell, but if there is it would be in the book they used. But that……burned."

The book had burned down in the same building the ritual had taken place. No one said it was Rosaline's fault for starting the fire, they didn't have to. No matter what they said she would feel guilty for what she had done for the rest of her life. 

"Aren't you going to patrol?" she asked, giving a fake smile.

"No, not tonight," he replied. "I mean, what's the bloody point anyway. They're multiplying, rapidly. Twelve council members died in the last two days, twelve!!! We're enlisting the help of some rogue demon hunters, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters right now…Just you and me….and sleep," he sighed. Rosaline burst into tears.

"What? What is it darling?"

She almost wanted to laugh. He never used such sentiments usually, especially one like _darling! But she couldn't laugh, not now when she had started crying. The best she could manage was a smile._

"It's not just you and me…." she wiped away some of the tears.

"Ummmm….okay. I guess it is the rest of the world's problem if we don't figure something out….." he really had no clue what she meant.

"Not that, you git!" Men could be really thick sometimes. Not that he should know what she was talking about. "I'm pregnant!"

Arden couldn't have looked more stunned if she had hit him. "Preg-pregnant? Like…with a child?" Off her look, "Right…yes…I mean how….I mean not how. I _know how. I guess….well…how?!"_

Rosaline did laugh this time. Arden was becoming more flustered. Like most Watchers he tended to babble when he was vexed by something. 

"Well," she smiled, feeling a bit better, "You know I was feeling kind of sick the last few days–"

"Which is natural, I mean your sister….." Arden stopped. He didn't want to bring that up, or the death of Magnolia. God help him if he could ever forget them though.

"Yes, it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary that I would feel a little peeked. But I was nauseous a lot," she explained. "And….I felt…different. Around here," she placed his stomach on her abdomen. "I took a home pregnancy test and it came up positive, so yesterday I went to the doctor and he confirmed it. I'm going to have a baby. We're going to have a baby."

She waited a minute. Arden appeared to have the look of a little lost child on his face. _Please say something, her mind pleaded._

"So…..when's it due?"

"Well, its August now….about May."

He nodded. "If you're tired we could always talk about this tomorrow," she said.

"No," he shook his head. He just didn't know what to say. Where to begin. He knew he was probably coming off like an ass right now. He grasped Rosaline's hands in his.

"I promise I will not let anything happen to you or this baby. Not as long as I'm still breathing. I'm going to be the best father I can. And husband! I'll marry you, Rosaline. Right now, tonight if you like! We just need—"

She cut him off, "You don't have to marry me just because I'm pregnant. Who says I even want to get married."

Arden gave her a sulking look. She patted his hand. "It's not that I don't want to marry you. In particular anyway. I just don't want to get married at all. I don't think you need a piece of paper and some priest or judge swearing you in for you to be able to spend the rest of your life with one person. I think if you love someone you love them; you stay together and that's that."

"Yes, well, you're a witch. They usually have different traditions—"

"You say that like its bad," she dropped his hands, pretending to be angry. "Besides, my parents were never married in a church or court of any kind, and they stayed together until they died."

"I know that," he sighed. He was trying to come up with a counter attack. "It's just; I want to know that you're mine. Not in the whole possessive, macho sort of way. I just want to know that I have you with me, come good or bad; and you can't run off."

Rosaline rested her hand on his cheek, "Arden James Davis….you have me. This I swear on our unborn child and all that is holy on this earth. You have me."

He took her hand from his face and kissed it.

* * *

2 months later

Rosaline was sitting at one of the long wooden tables in the library of the Delilac manor. She was hunched over one of the many volumes of books. The smell of leather and paper mixed with that of dust as she turned a page. Two months. Two long and grueling months and still nothing. The demon population had quadrupled and a reversal spell was still unknown. Rosaline laid her head down on the open book. It seemed hopeless. Her head hurt from reading and translating, she couldn't sleep at night because of the side affects of being pregnant. She felt like just giving up. But no, she couldn't. Her hand moved to rest on her abdomen. There had to be a way. There had to be something that could be done. If they couldn't break the spell surely they could do something to stall until they could. 

Rosaline closed the book she had been using as a pillow. She reached over and grabbed another large, leather bound book from a stack. It was one of the volumes of the Watcher's Diaries. She had borrowed it from the council. She opened it to a random page and began to read. "Boy, some of these blokes really liked to hear themselves talk, or write I guess." 

She read a few pages then stopped. She reread the sentence over again and again. She looked up at the clock. A little past 10 pm. She grabbed two more books and flipped through them. She continued to work through the night.

* * *

"Not that I don't mind being woken up at 4 am and having to come down here," Graham said sarcastically between yawns, "But I would like to know why the bloody hell we are here!!"

Arden rolled his eyes at his friend. Sure he wanted to know just as bad, but he could wait a bit. What he wanted to know was why was the mother of his child out of bed at 4 am! Plus she was partly ignoring him. She was talking with Ingrid and Proctor the whole time. Arden turned his head and could see Will standing a few feet away. If he was curious about what was going on he didn't show it.

"Alright, alright," Proctor's rich, deep voice boomed out over the hall, quieting everyone. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here. Well, frankly so am I."

He stopped speaking and sat down. It was obvious that it was Ingrid's turn to speak. The old woman stood. She appeared frail, but was far from it. Her long, white hair was down, almost reaching her knees. 

"We are here, ladies and gentleman, to bring back a slayer.

Part 3 coming soon


End file.
